For a country with a history as diverse as India, patriotism is different for every citizen. For some, patriotism is waving the tricolor on Republic Day, and for others, it is the resolution to work for the betterment of their country. However, Bollywood over the past year has portrayed patriotism in movies. From Border to Shershah, patriotism has been applauded for representing the struggle of military and border forces. Movies often focus on the unimaginable trouble that our soldiers go through every day and the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for their motherland. Here, Bollywood plays a subtle trick by blending a subtle tone of thrill with patriotism, where instead of showing the true condition of India, they create an atmosphere of hair-raising action based on incidents related to the security of our country. Therefore, it becomes an important question: is patriotism a mere tool for box office success?
Many people believe that Bollywood has made a great contribution to pushing Indians culturally backward. The patriotic question is one of the most drastic charges that Bollywood faces. Patriotism is not only about the active battle for country; it is also about the silent reverence and working for the good of country. Bollywood somehow completely misses the point that not every patriotic person has to be a soldier. And in most of the films, patriotism is based on the fight against Pakistan. This can be seen in the evolving nature of the portrayal of patriotism in Bollywood films. In the early 1950s, patriotic movies like Roti Kapda Makan and Poorav Paschim focused on the problems of modern independent India, such as a lack of secularism, religious rigidity, and social issues. Later in the 70s and 80s, the narrative changed to the battle against Pakistan. Films like Gadaar, Border, LOC, Mission Kashmir all focused on the ongoing 1971 battle with Pakistan and the issues of Pak-terrorism in Kashmir. These films were loud and clear in their patriotic message. Another type of patriotic film, such as Lagan, focused on the battles against British people in colonial times to bring out patriotic thoughts. However, in the early 1990s and 2000s, there were some movies that focused on the internal issues of India rather than the outside militant operations. Films like Rang de Basanti, Swadesh showed that nationalism is not only about competing with other nations but rather acknowledging the problems and loving the country with attempts to reform.
More recent movies like Uri the Surgical Strike, Raazi, Shershah, and Airlift have focused on the idea of personal loyalty to a country, giving the protagonist almost heroic status. Now, is it just because common Indians always feel a stream of patriotism and buy tickets easily for these movies? Is patriotism in Bollywood movies a getaway to box office success? Well, in many cases it is, and in many cases it isn’t. When Bollywood puts the struggle of our national heroes on display, they might have been making a business stunt, but ultimately, these are the stories that need to be told. These heroes deserve to be known by their countrymen. So Bollywood isn’t very wrong in bringing their story to the screen. Also, in the films where social issues are portrayed, patriotism is not something they want to propagate clearly. Through films like Rang De Basanti and Swadesh, they want to convey the idea of the Reformation. So in films like these, patriotism is not used as a box-office magnet. Rather, it is the main theme of the movie and is used to show devotion to one’s own country.
However, in some cases, the extravagant actions and the unbelievable series of events are shown in order to show India’s superiority to other countries. These are used with the purpose of getting loud claps and igniting shrill patriotic ideology that instead of loving one’s country, teachers prove its superiority without acknowledging its fault.
Bollywood movies are always a good theme for cakes. If you want to order a cake for Independence Day or Republic Day, you can order a cake based on the patriotic movies. You can order from Cakes and Bakes, who deliver all over Kolkata. They have made movie-based cakes previously and have prepared cakes for premieres as well. They make customized cakes as well. You can go to their website and see their previous work too. I hope you will like it.
